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OK folks, you are getting into religious discussions, which is DEFINITELY not allowed. Please follow the guidelines.

TheArmedFarmer wrote:

Keith B wrote:Unfortunately, where there is a will, there is usually a way, and it is not going to be a matter of IF they are able to wage another attack, it is just a matter of WHEN.

Keith,

Your post was interesting and insightful, but it left me with more questions. I've always wondered why we haven't had another attack on our own soil since 9/11. If there is a will, then certainly in the past 8 years they would have found a way.

The recent plots were all foiled through the FBI setting up the would-be terrorist, supplying (fake) explosives and prompting the person to use them. Without the FBI's involvement, I wonder if these men would have actually committed them. I'm not implying that the person is innocent (by any means! I expect them to be properly found guilty following a trial, which is their right). I'm just wondering on whether they would have acted eventually without the FBI prodding them along.

This country is rich with opportunities for a terrorist to spread terror, so why is it that in 8 years we've seen nothing?

The best method to prevent crime is to stop it before it happens. Deterrents are the most successful way to keep them at bay. If the bad guys know you are on their tail, they usually will hide out, break down planning and communication and not follow through with their plans because they feel they will be stopped before they can complete it.

There are lots of cases that go unpublished where individuals were not allowed access into the country, have been found here illegally and deported, etc. Good intelligence and detective work is going on. Staying on top of the chatter, infiltrating their networks, etc. is occurring. These have happened since 9/11 and will continue to happen. I feel this is why we haven't seen another attack on our soil since 9/11.

Unfortunately, just as the attacks on 9/11 got trough the net, we will probably see another one some day. Will it be tomorrow or 10 years from now, only time will tell.

As for the sting operations; These people who wish to wage jihad will work at building their network. They will search and hunt for a method to carry out their attack. While they may not have been successful at planning one as quickly, they would eventually have found a means if not stopped. Stings are a tired and true method of getting into something early and breaking it up. If you allow an individual to build an actual operational cell, then you have a lot more to deal with than just one ring leader/instigator. As a farmer and gardener, you know well that if you stop the growth early you keep the weed from becoming mature. Let one weed mature, and they start spreading like crazy from the roots and the seeds that blow in the wind.

stroo wrote:My wife flew home from North Carolina today. She said security in the airports was at a really heightened level. Sounds to me like they are still looking for some folks.

They will ALWAYS be looking for folks. Unfortunately this is the world we now live in today. However, it is not new.

I have some very close ties to the counter-terrorism community. Osama Bin Laden and Al Queda has been a thorn in the world security groups side since way before 9/11. As for attacks against the U.S., think back to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the late '90's embassy bombings, and the 2000 attack on the USS Cole. These were all acts of terrorism tied to al-Queda. There are also those attacks that were thwarted by good intelligence, surveillance, and law enforcement work, like the plot to blow up multiple international airline flights during Y2K, and cell in London who were going to bring various individual chemicals separately on board the planes and mix them to make their bombs right on board. That last one lead to the 3oz of liquid regulation we now have on the airlines.

Other countries have lived the issue of terrorism for years (Israel and Ireland to name two.) Although the counter-terrorism community does an extremely good job of keeping the terrorists on the run, we have just been very lucky previously. As a country and working with the rest of the world, we have to keep our guard up, follow every possible lead, and do everything we can to put the pieces of the puzzle together. This will hopefully allow the teams to bust them before another attack happens. Unfortunately, where there is a will, there is usually a way, and it is not going to be a matter of IF they are able to wage another attack, it is just a matter of WHEN.